My break lasted longer than planned. As our wedding approached, time sped up, punctuated by frequent thunderstorms. The periodical cicadas came and went in their screaming glory. Pennsylvania has slipped into the dog days of summer, and Sirius rises high over us in the nighttime sky. The lake calls me, and I resist the urge to swim all day, every day.
When I first moved here in the summer of 2020, I worked from home each day. During my lunch breaks I would dash to the dock and slip into the water. I could take a dip at the boat launch and crawl out on the bank at the other side, undisturbed. I’ll never know if the park rangers let me have fun or chose to ignore my small-town antics.
While visiting earlier this week, the launch was quiet enough for me to sit at the end of the dock to nature journal. The sparkling summer lake was a fun challenge to capture in a pencil drawing. Beneath my feet, bluegill hovered around the dock pilings, their fins glinting gold. One snuck up to my foot to check me out, sucking in water through its nostrils to detect my scent. I drew the scene in my journal, delighted as the fish gathered near me.
Other delights found themselves in my journal. Several bass were jumping out of the water- from predation or delight, I won’t ever know. I captured the blue-fronted dancer that rested on my knee, and a green dragonfly that swept around my face. Tufts of algae floated by me, caught in the wake of a speedboat and my nature journal. After filling the page with pencil drawings, I packed my journal away to lay on the dock and watch the clouds.
Having a sit-spot, a place to sit and journal at many times over a period, is a common practice. Sit-spot recommendations include spaces that are at home, or if not, very close to home. My first sit-spot was on my porch, a safe and secluded spot where I could experiment with my journal in peace. Soon after, I started taking my journal on lunch break walks, and I developed a second sit-spot.
Bald Eagle Launch, where I was earlier this week, is my second and favorite sit-spot. I can sit anywhere on the property to journal… on the dock floating in water, under the pavilion, perched on the trail bench, or draped on the grassy hill. Every angle is beautiful, every corner of the area holds some fascinating bit of nature. Long before I kept a nature journal, I wrote in my diary here- and many, many pages of daily nature observations.
I’m not alone in having multiple sit-spots. One of my nature journal inspirations, Clare Walker Leslie, journals at several places. In her books, she shares pages from her spot at Mount Auburn Cemetery, her country home, and her city home. As she cycles through locations, the seasons pass and she captures snippets of time all over.
I know Bald Eagle Launch will remain as my most favorite sit-spot. Yet, I’m always on the hunt for a new spot- a place for me to visit every so often and witness nature throughout the seasons. The rest of this summer, I plan to attend Centred Outdoors events and journal my way through every outing. You can check out the schedule online and make a plan to join me!
autumn's country diary 